


All In

by refuted



Category: Rookie Blue
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-08-12
Updated: 2014-08-12
Packaged: 2018-02-12 20:21:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 967
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2123403
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/refuted/pseuds/refuted
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Gail and Holly in the bathroom, after the haircut.</p>
            </blockquote>





	All In

> _ Go on and touch, don't think too deep in _
> 
> _Don't be so scared of the things you love_
> 
> _\- Young Summer_

-

The silence is sharp and absolute after Holly shuts the water.

They stand without speaking for several moments, as Gail slides her arms under and around Holly. Still, the movement remains all too foreign to her. Gail Peck has never been easy to embrace, but Holly leans in and it all starts to feel less like a choice and more a confirmation.

That Holly makes her feel so comfortable in her own skin flutters down her spine, lodges a gasp in her throat. That she’s turned into someone Gail can come home to only makes her want to hold her tighter, and she does.

She swallows dryly as Holly lets go, whose expression sobers by measures, for just a moment before she looks Gail up and down: drenched, fully clothed, and with strands of blonde sticking to her blouse. She laughs, and the lilt of her voice effectively fills the room with sound.

She sits at the edge of the tub.

“Let’s get these off.”

Gail watches silently as Holly rests her hands on her waist, turning her. She works at her button and zipper and Gail tilts her head back, eyes sliding shut as a heat coils in beads of sweat around her neck. Uncertain and anxious over Holly’s intentions, and her own.

Gail shakes the thought away. Focuses on the task at hand and tries to hide whatever it is she’s feeling.

Her slacks prove difficult to shed, wet and heavy when Holly tries to tug. They cling to her skin like rubber, to which she huffs in slight frustration. She looks up at Gail, who returns the glance with lower lips caught between her teeth. She shrugs, and just as suddenly they’re both less keen on showering with clothes on.

Gail steadies herself on Holly’s shoulders. Her fingers tremble and her throat tightens with a toxic mix of tequila, of grief and elation as she wavers, off balance. Holly tugs again and the slacks give way. A rush of air blows at Gail’s exposed thigh, but the warmth of Holly’s liquor supply keeps her from shivering. Her cheeks pulse a soft pink and she’s stopped caring about how much Holly has seen of her already.

Gail wonders briefly if this is what it’s like to open up to someone. She’s not used to feeling so exposed or to feeling so goddamn _much_ but somehow Holly just keeps her grounded. And she does, quite literally, grasping at her hand to steady Gail as she stumbles out of her slacks.

So maybe it’s right, the way she stands this bare for her.

Before she can consider it, Gail sheds her blouse as well, watching expectantly while Holly’s gaze lingers as it trails up her torso. They look at each other and beyond whatever haze the alcohol has on her, Gail swears she sees something like a challenge. She tries to rationalize it to present height difference, but the thought settles between her thighs regardless, spreads as a knot in her chest that she can’t shiver off.

“I’ll grab you some clean clothes,” she says after a moment.

Holly swings her legs over the bathtub. She rises face to face with the officer and runs her hands through Gail’s hair, the turn of her mouth sated and smug as she says, “Try not to undo my work while I’m gone.”

Gail leans forward from within the bathtub, cups Holly’s cheeks and kisses her slowly.

She licks into Holly’s mouth, moving her hands against Holly’s shoulder to keep from leaning too far forward. Holly manages to find her longest remaining locks of hair and wraps her fingers around them, tugging as she smiles wider against Gail’s mouth.

Gail bites Holly’s lips as she pulls away, tries to goad her into stepping back into the tub, but she only smiles, familiar and easy. Gives them both room to breathe.

“I’ll throw these in the dryer.” Holly offers.

Gail draws the curtains and undresses completely.

“No peeking, Lunchbox.”

She hears Holly hum dismissively, who steps out and the door clicks shut, leaving Gail half-hoping she does.

She doesn’t, and the disappointment that washes over Gail tells her more than she would wish.

-

Gail comes out of the bathroom sobered and exhausted and reluctant to return to a world outside. She lingers in the doorway, watching Holly, who sits on the sides of her feet as she reads, brows furrowed, mouth curled into a slight frown. She looks up at Gail and her expression loosens entirely. 

Sometimes it’s just the one look that convinces Gail she must be smitten.

“Come to bed with me,” Holly says.

Gail nods.

(She is.)

-

“Maybe I should have undressed you before the shower,” Holly murmurs.

Her arms wrap around Gail like routine, and it feels just so.

Gail breathes in deep and hums in agreement. She hooks her foot around Holly’s calf, tangles their legs together.

How remarkable, she marvels when Holly plays with her fingers, almost like it wasn’t just the day before when they pretended they wouldn’t rather be with each other at The Penny.

How remarkable, she marvels, that they fit so well.

“You should have undressed me before I cut my hair off.”

Holly chuckles, low and delicious against the back of Gail’s neck (her nose hits the space just below her nape, and it’s so strange, to feel skin on skin there again) and she never wants to leave. She holds onto Holly with a firmer grasp, if only to convince herself that she’s still not dreaming.

Holly kisses the back of her shoulder, the nape of her neck. “Next time,” she offers quietly.

Gail takes the thought to sleep.

 


End file.
